SARA K. HAYDEN founded Minerva Law PLLC to provide practical and holistic guidance to clients relating to real estate development, new construction and renovation, and historic properties rehabilitation. She began her legal career litigating Sara began her legal career litigating complex real estate, land use, construction and general business matters and now uses her dispute resolution skills and advocacy for the negotiation of real estate transactions. Prior to Minerva Law, Sara was a transactional attorney at a boutique law firm focusing on affordable housing, where she represented tax credit investors and closed complex multifamily projects with development budgets totaling over $1 billion leveraging close to $650 million in low income and historic tax credit equity. Now at Minerva Law, Sara efficiently delivers this same sophisticated legal experience to her clients.    

Sara’s insightful law practice is strengthened by a breadth of hands-on business experience in historic property redevelopment and community development, design, and construction management. As real estate development director, she led the launch of DC’s first nonprofit historic properties redevelopment program and managed the full rehabilitation of two properties in Historic Anacostia. Prior to law school, Sara worked for architecture firms in the San Francisco Bay Area focused on small commercial and innovative residential projects. She also has experience on the construction-side as a construction project manager for high-end residential projects.

Sara earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley, where she also received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture with High Honors. She studied at Harvard Law School for a year through the Berkeley-Harvard Exchange program.  

A native of the biggest little state, Rhode Island, Sara lived in San Francisco for thirteen years, and now resides in Washington, DC, where she is raising her family. She loves old places, cooking and sharing great food, and exploring nature near and far. She is also the founder of Vita Cooking School.

Sara is licensed in Washington, DC, and Maryland.